Old-Fashioned Scalloped Corn

Fresh or frozen whole-kernel corn blends with canned cream-style corn for a delicious take on this favorite side dish. Toasted and buttered crushed crackers add more texture to the top of the casserole.

Tuscan Kale with Brown Butter, Pecans and Golden Raisins

The recipe makes more than enough of chef Anne Kearney's Spiced Pecans for this dish. Not to worry. They're fantastic for snacking or sprinkling on salad. Tuscan kale, sometimes called dinosaur or lacinato kale, has darker, smoother leaves than curly kale. It also has a more tender texture.

Spiced Pumpkin Bisque

The Inn at Irish Hollow in Galena, Illinois, serves this creamy, curried soup throughout the fall and winter. You can make your own crème fraîche for the garnish, or use purchased crème fraiche or sour cream.

Southwest Corn Pudding

Buttery onions, cheddar and green chilies lace our stuffinglike pudding. Inspired by traditional skillet corn bread, this recipe works as a side or as a meatless main served with a salad or garlicky sauteed kale.

Wilted Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

This recipe, from a Dearborn, Michigan, restaurant, dresses up a classic side-dish wilted salad. "I really enjoyed the addition of fresh mushrooms and hard-boiled eggs," notes a reviewer on our website. "I could easily make a meal of this."

Roasted Root Vegetables

Parsnips, turnips, potatoes, carrots and onions are drizzled with honey and sprinkled with sage for fresh, sweet flavor. "I found this when it was first published and it has been part of every Thanksgiving since!" writes one of our website readers. "A lovely new tradition! The only dish I've ever taken that people ask me for the recipe."

Butternut Squash and Apple Salad

Sweet squash and apple pair with sharp Gorgonzola and tangy dressing in this autumn salad from Black Star Farm in Suttons Bay, Michigan. The dressing calls for verjus, a tart pressed grape juice. You can order verjust online or find it as specialty stores, but wine vinegar makes a good substitute.

Cranberry Cashew Salad

Sliced apples, roasted cashews and dried fruit combine with mango chutney, spinach leaves and curry for an exotic, fresh-tasting salad. The recipe comes from the New Albany (Ohio) Cooking with Friends community cookbook.

Gourmet Onions

Persimmon, Blood Orange and Pomegranate Salad

A colorful burst of fresh flavor is worth the time it takes to peel and section or slice fruit for this holiday salad. If you're in a rush, use 2 to 3 cups jarred, drained, sectioned citrus fruit in place of the four oranges.

Pumpkin-Currant Scones and Best Potato Rolls

Pumpkin blends with spices such as ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in fragrant Pumpkin-Currant Scones from Cafe Latte at Victoria Crossing in Saint Paul. Another holiday bread your guests will love: Best Potato Rolls from Lucia's Restaurant in Minneapolis. Our recipe for the potato rolls also gives a variation for Garlic and Rosemary Knots pictured at left.